Should Parents Be Involved With Their Child's Therapy?

Young children do not benefit from talk therapy until at least their teenage years. They are not cognitively able to understand the concepts the therapist is trying to teach. That is why it is best to work with the parents first and then try to talk to the child when they need to. Children test limits and sometimes that means breaking rules that parents do not allow. Parents can become frustrated and not know how to deal with this and may come to a therapist to get some answers.

The therapist will talk to the parents because most of the behavior the child is expressing can be changed with consistent rules and with reinforcement of those rules when broken. The therapist will get all the information they will need to know how to help the parents to deal with the situation. The parents will first discuss with the parents what their concerns are with their child. Next, the therapist will ask about the pregnancy and birth of the child to see if there were any kinds of health issues. Next, the therapist will ask if their child hit all of their developmental milestones on time. Next, the therapist will ask about the child’s social interactions and behavior. The therapist will ask about the parents relationship to the child and as well as the child’s relationship to the parents. Then, the therapist will bring the parent’s concerns back up to question. The therapist will figure out what the parent’s feeling are towards their child and also their feelings towards being a parent. They will discuss the child’s behavior and discuss how to disciple the child to encourage change in the behavior.

It is extremely beneficial to include the parents in the treatment of their child. The parents are the ones that enforce rules and set boundaries. Most parents do not know how to do this. The therapist will help the parents to understand the issues they are having and what they can do to insure there will be change in the behavior. The parents are responsible for the child and will be the one who does most of the work in helping correct the child’s behavior.